How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition

By: Robert Greenberg, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Greenberg

Great music is a language unto its own, a means of communication of unmatched beauty and genius. And it has an undeniable power to move us in ways that enrich our lives - provided it is understood.

If you have ever longed to appreciate great concert music, to learn its glorious language and share in its sublime pleasures, the way is now open to you, through this series of 48 wonderful lectures designed to make music accessible to everyone who yearns to know it, regardless of prior training or knowledge. It's a lecture series that will enable you to first grasp music's forms, techniques, and terms - the grammatical elements that make you fluent in its language - and then use that newfound fluency to finally hear and understand what the greatest composers in history are actually saying to us.

And as you learn the gifts given us by nearly every major composer, you'll come to know there is one we share with each of them - a common humanity that lets us finally understand that these were simply people speaking to us, sharing their passion and wanting desperately to be heard. Using digitally recorded musical passages to illustrate his points, Professor Greenberg will take you inside magnificent compositions by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Verdi, Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and more. Even if you have listened to many of these illustrative pieces throughout your life - as so many of us have - you will never hear them the same way again after experiencing these lectures.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

The best professor for music appreciation or any other subject!

I feel fortunate to have learned from Prof. Greenberg, for I have a habit of starting new things and losing interest. It is because of him and only him that I have mastered this course. I have even read his notes and done a repeat of listening to his lectures, which is unprecedented for somebody like myself who suffers from ADHD. A personal 'thank you' to Prof. Greenberg for his mastery of the subject, his passion for teaching and his genuine empathy and generosity toward his students, even if faceless in this situation. Thank you, Sir!

Great Professor, but...

Really, the professor is just something else! I laughed out loud sometimes... he’s just great.
The course is huge though. I just enjoyed “classical” music and thought this course could do me some good to appreciate it even more. It did, but I was lost sometimes to be honest. My fault I guess.
So, if you’re not studying music be advised: it is long. This may take you a while to finish.

Excellent Course in depth survey

Professor Greenberg's presentation style is a blend of Louis Black and Winnie the Pooh. His love of music comes through loud and clear in each lecture. Highly recommended.

Great music makes for a great listen.

What did you love best about How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition?

I learned a lot about how to dissect music.

What was one of the most memorable moments of How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition?

Professor Greenberg's impassioned defense of early 20th century music. And, my friends, I mean IMPASSIONED!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was interesting throughout.

Any additional comments?

Prof. Greenberg needs to learn what the phrase "begs the question" means.

Glorious

I, as a passionate music lover, truly enjoyed this course. While not short, professor Greeneberger makes it interesting, and even funny, without losing depth in its explanations, on which I always learnt new things, or new approaches, even of the composers I was familiar with.

Highly recommended. I feel privileged to have listened to it. Mi love for music has become even stronger...

Extremely informative!!

I loved these lectures! I thought Robert Greenberg made the material extremely interesting besides being informative.
I play violin in the Delaware County Symphony. I must tell them that they need to change their name to Orchestra! LOL!

What a great survey of great music!

I now understand how music is a mirror. How it reflects our culture and context. Very informative, highly entertaining, funny and inspiring.

Fun | Educational | Sublime

Fun: Robert Greenberg has a great sense of humor and makes learning all this material a real joy.

Educational: He covers a lot of ground in a lot of detail and really helps the listener connect the dots.

Sublime: We really do get to listen to some masterworks in this course and Prof. Greenberg helps us see them for what they are. He's passionate about the subject and in the end, his passion made me willing to see the beauty.

I will definitely give this another listen because there's so much good stuff and it's so enjoyable to hear him talk about it.

Loved the course

This course is highly educational for even someone who knows zero about music but it is also laugh out loud funny thanks to the professor's incredible sense of humor. I loved it and now have a much greater appreciation for music that will continue to enrich my life greatly!

Very inspiring!

Prof. Greenberg is fantastic. I learned a lot and had a great time doing it. Win-win!!